The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) which last week conducted the first Issuer Forum on foreign soil in the Maldives has plans to introduce a Multi-Currency Board to list and trade companies incorporated and operating outside Sri Lanka. The forum, attended by over 30 representatives from 20 potential Issuers from the Maldives and seven investment banks from Sri Lanka, presented the CSE as a secondary listing destination for Maldivian companies and promoted the Sri Lankan capital market to investors.

“The necessary approvals for the board have been obtained by the Central Bank and the CSE is awaiting approval from the Securities & Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC),” the CSE said in a statement last week.

Commenting on the process of listing foreign companies, the CEO of CSE Rajeeva Bandaranaike noted that initially only non-resident foreign investors would be permitted to buy and sell securities through the proposed Multi-Currency Board.

The CSE and the Maldives Stock Exchange (MSE), in association with the Capital Market Development Authority of Maldives (CMDA), acting under the MOU signed between the two exchanges, conducted this roadshow for potential Maldivian Issuers and Investors.
Speaking at the event, the CEO of MSE Hassan Manik pointed out that listing on the CSE would provide Maldivian listed companies an opportunity to achieve proper values for their shares. He noted that at present, shares of listed Maldivian companies do not have correct values, which is caused by the lack of liquidity in the market.

The Forum also featured a Chairman/MD of Softlogic Holdings PLC, Ashok Pathirage and Head of Strategy, Chintaka Ranasinghe sharing their experience of Softlogic Holdings using the Sri Lankan capital market to fund their growth.

Pathirage noted that sourcing capital is just one benefit of listing on the CSE and outlined that listing also fosters good corporate governance, paves the way for an optimized company structure and helps in growing the organization through attracting quality talent.